Kidnapping
Addison was stunned, what's the concept of 100,000 taels of silver? His mother's illness can be cured, the ancestral property that has been pawned out can be redeemed, and even if the interest on the loan is high, he won't be afraid. Moreover, he can repay the kind neighbors who lent him clothes and registration fees. More importantly, his ideals can be realized, with sufficient funds, many of the new ideas in his mind will become a reality.
"Did I hear that right? 100,000 taels of silver, not 10 taels?" Addison couldn't believe his ears. Even if he sold the technology to the wealthy and influential Ministry of Works, it would be at most 5,000 taels. He was immediately petrified, his mind a complete blank.
"That's right, it's 100,000 taels, but I also have conditions. From now on, the patent rights of all your inventions will belong to me, that is to say, from today on, you will work for me. Of course, in addition to this 100,000 taels as a one-time payment, I will pay you an extra salary of 1,000 taels per month. Are you willing?" Heaven has sent him such a talented person, Liu Ziguang certainly cannot let go, he must grasp it tightly, and the conditions he offered are also irresistible to anyone, not afraid that Edison would refuse.
Addison felt as if his heart had been taken out of an icehouse and flung into a blast furnace. Was it all true? The hundred thousand taels, the monthly stipend of one thousand taels! More profitable than the pharmacy at the entrance of the alley! He bit his finger, it hurt. Looking at the person in front of him, he had a shadow, this was not a dream! Addison's brain was blocked for a moment, he didn't know what to say, only tears flowed down.
Liu Ziguang took out a 1,000-liang silver note and ten liangs of patterned silver and stuffed them into Edison's hands. "I only have this much on me, you go back home first to take care of your mother's illness and pay off the debt, tomorrow I'll send someone to pick you up, by the way, where do you live?"
The silver note in his hand was sturdy and clear in texture, genuine Anhui Ri Sheng Chang silver note. The ten-tael ingot was heavy, and it was the best fine silk Gu Ping silver. He finally couldn't control his emotions, his shoulders shook violently, and he knelt down in front of Liu Ziguang: "Benefactor! Your great kindness, Di Sheng can't repay even if I die... From now on, I will be your servant, do my best to repay..." His voice choked, unable to continue.
"All right, all right. As long as you're willing to work for me, I don't care about the pay. Judging from your inventions, I can tell that you are a genius of this era. I hope you can accept this modest treatment." Liu Ziguang patted Edison's shoulder and comforted him.
It was some time before Addison calmed down and said, "Xiao Ke lives outside the gate of Jibao Gate in Xiaosi Ancient Alley. Tomorrow Xiao Ke will definitely be at home waiting for your summons, and he will come as soon as he is called."
"I remember, you take this glass lamp first and put it at home as a souvenir. Hurry back, the old mother is still thinking about it at home." The matter was settled, and Liu Ziguang also prepared to go back and continue watching the game.
"It doesn't matter, walking slowly for an hour can also get home, sir. That's all for now, goodbye." Addison respectfully knocked three times and didn't dare to leave first, he had to see Liu Ziguang off before leaving.
Liu Ziguang stretched out his hand to help him up, but still received three bows from him. Then he turned around and left, walking a few steps before suddenly remembering something and turning back to say: "Little Ai, did you ever hatch chicken eggs when you were young?" Without waiting for an answer, he smiled and left, leaving Edison bewildered and lost in thought.
The competition has ended, and the judges announced the top three names: "Champion - Wang Liuge of the Imperial Household Department! Runner-up - Huang Tianba of the Brocade Guard! Third place - Du Shaqing of Tianchang!"
Applause thundered, cheers erupted, "Hiss!" Liu Ziguang spat out a mouthful of saliva. Is this what they call a great competition among men? A eunuch without even a little chicken won the championship, and second place was that useless Huang Zhen from Haizhou who only knew how to brag; third place I've never heard of, don't know where he came from, some kind of sour stick. The aesthetic values of the Ming people are truly not worth complimenting.
Back on the boat, the young lady had vanished without a trace, but the bamboo flute was left on the deck. Liu Ziguang grabbed the boatman, who was still in shock, and asked loudly: "Where is she?"
The boatman took out a piece of paper and said: "They were taken away by two men on a big ship, they left this behind."
"What kind of person? What kind of boat? Where did they go? How long have they been gone?" Liu Ziguang asked repeatedly, while observing the paper in his hand, which only had an address written on it: Shichengmen North Xijie, with a pair of red lanterns at the entrance. The boatman trembled and said: "I didn't see clearly, I just felt that they were two quick-handed people, who tapped their feet on my boat and took away the young lady's voice, then this paper appeared in my hand. There were many boats and people, it was chaotic, I couldn't see which direction they went in, you had just left when they came."
Who did it? They came prepared and deliberately chose to strike when I wasn't around.
The prime suspects are the people from Song Country, they want to play a trick on each other, since everyone has something to hide, let's see who is more despicable. They left their address, which means there is still room for negotiation, now we can only follow this lead to investigate further.
Find the person on the shore, order Ding Libin to go back and gather Deng Ken and others to bring short arms to Beixin Street to assemble. Then Liu Ziguo took a step first, anxiously galloping towards the nearest city gate.
After the Good Man Contest ended, it was a whole night of performances by the troupe, so the audience stayed overnight and couldn't return home even if they wanted to. The thirteen city gates in Beijing were all locked at night.
When Liu Ziguang's horse arrived at the Stone City Gate, the gate had indeed been closed. He dismounted and habitually prepared to find a section of unguarded city wall to climb over, but then changed his mind. In all things, one must use their brain more, and not rely on brute force.
He swaggered over and shouted at the soldiers on the city wall: "Open the gate quickly! Urgent business from the East Factory!"
On the city gate, there was a small door that was specially used for emergency entry and exit at night, such as urgent documents like those from 800 miles away. Of course, the special agents of the Eastern Depot enjoyed this privilege even more. A young military officer respectfully examined Liu Ziguang's Eastern Depot token, then handed it back with both hands raised above his head, "Sir, please proceed slowly." Liu Ziguang proudly put away the token and asked, "Wasn't there anyone else who entered the city just now? Including a woman?"
The little officer hastily replied: "Report to the adult, yes, it is the carriage of the Brocade Guard. It's unclear whether there are any female family members. After the city gate was closed, a team of people entered the city."
"Alright, thanks!" Liu Ziguo patted the horse's belly and rode off into the distance.
"This must be a new recruit from the Eastern Depot. The old veterans of the Eastern Depot wouldn't even say thank you, let alone scold people." said the experienced young officer to several soldiers beside him.
Along the main street, they ran wildly and soon arrived at Beixin Street. Liu Ziguo tied his horse to a tree by the side of the road and stood at the corner of the wall, observing the situation. Ding Libin was definitely unable to enter the city, there were no reinforcements, and time was not waiting for anyone, so he had to take action himself first.
The houses on Beixin Street are mostly the residences of wealthy families, which are now all closed and quiet. This place is not as prosperous as the Qinhuai River area, and everyone has gone to bed early. There are no pedestrians on the street, only the night watchman passing by with his wooden clappers.
There was only one household on the street with a pair of red lanterns hanging at the gate, the door closed tightly, and the surrounding wall was very high, with an eerie atmosphere. Maybe it's the secret base of the Traveling Song, or maybe it's really the residence of the Brocade Guard, who cares? Regardless of whether it's a dragon's lair or a tiger's den, I'll storm in today, hoping that these people haven't done anything bad to Peng Jingrong, and if she has any mishap, everyone present will have to pay with their lives.
The other side must have made preparations, and if they sneak in, they might encounter traps or ambushes. It's better to go in openly and honestly, which is also a kind of show of strength. Those who dare to attend alone are likely to have an ace up their sleeve.
Having made up his mind, he walked forward, knocked on the door ring, and the paint-peeled door creaked open with a "squeak", revealing a gap. An old housekeeper with a withered face looked at Liu Ziguang with dim yellow eyes, didn't ask anything, took a step back, and made a gesture to invite him in.
As they entered the courtyard, an old servant led the way with a lantern that had no characters on it. After passing through the shadow wall and the second gate, a large locust tree stood in the center, its branches dense and leaves lush. The ground was paved with green bricks, and wild grass grew recklessly from the gaps between the bricks. It was strange to plant a locust tree in the courtyard, as everyone knew that the word for locust tree sounded like the character for "??" (trouble). Liu Ziguang's body was tense, his hand pressing on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment.
Inside the house, a lamp was lit, and a middle-aged man and Peng Jingrong were sitting there talking. It looked like a junior listening to an uncle's teachings, the atmosphere was very harmonious, not at all like being kidnapped.
There's something strange, the dumb old man at home, the big locust tree, the old mansion, and a lot of elements that make for a good chat room story. Liu Ziguang became even more tense, perhaps there were mechanisms and hidden weapons everywhere, or perhaps high-ranking officials were hiding, or perhaps Peng Jingrui on the main hall was disguised as someone else. All of this is possible. Although he didn't have much experience in Jianghu, the young man who had been influenced by countless martial arts and film works knew all about this set of tricks.
What to do? Only by being unchanging can one respond to the myriad changes, beware of the net falling from the sky and the pitfalls opening on the ground. Liu Ziguang walked slowly to the front of the hall.
"General Liu has arrived so quickly, I was worried that you wouldn't be able to enter the city gate. It seems I was overthinking." The middle-aged man stood up and came forward to greet him, wearing a five-clawed dragon robe with a large lapel, a four-sided flat-top hat, and a long beard with five braids, exuding an extraordinary air. Peng Jingrong also stood up to welcome him, her face calm as usual.
Liu Ziguang carefully sized up Peng Jingrong, confirming that it was indeed her. "How should the entry for exchanging silver bills for cash at the money house be made?" Liu Ziguang suddenly asked out of the blue.
Snow and ice clever Peng Jingrong suddenly understood, he used only a small range of use of the original Liu Shuangshi complex accounting method to test whether the big sister is not someone else's disguise or is being controlled by drugs.
"Borrowing money and lending silver tickets." Peng Jingrong smiled and replied, this Liu Ziguo is now also using his brain, it's a good phenomenon, I'll praise him when I get back.
Confirmed that it was Liu Ziguo himself, he felt at ease and ignored the middle-aged man. He walked to the main hall with a swagger, moved a chair to the center and sat down, preventing any sneak attacks from behind. Then, he pulled out the White Rainbow Sword and patted its scabbard, saying: "I don't care who you are, now I'll give you one minute to persuade me not to kill you. Alright, time starts now."
The middle-aged man was very calm and not angry at all. He turned around, sat back down beside the Eight Immortals table, and said: "I am a friend, not an enemy. I invited you two here to save your lives, to rescue the Li Guo Iron Factory."
"Stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point." Liu Ziguang impatiently tapped his finger on the armrest of the chair.
"The Empress Dowager's four favorite paintings and several precious treasures have gone missing. Today, she summoned the heads of the Eastern Depot, Imperial Guards, Five City Garrison, and the Responding to Heaven Prefecture Yamen, issuing an edict that they must solve the case within three days. The Empress Dowager said that whoever makes her uncomfortable for even a moment will be made uncomfortable for their entire life, and their nine clans will also be made uncomfortable for generations."
"What does it have to do with me?" Liu Ziguang continued to be stubborn, this might be a trap set by Song Guo, luring him into giving up all his treasures.
"Of course not, Deputy Liu is a law-abiding citizen, how could he be involved in such thievery?" the middle-aged man continued, "However, someone saw Deputy Liu last night after midnight dressing up like a three-flower cat and sneaking out to have fun, only returning at dawn. Coincidentally, it was during this time that the theft occurred in the imperial palace. If others were to find out about this, I'm afraid it wouldn't be easy to explain." The middle-aged man was full of confidence, not caring about Liu Ziguang's threat of "one moment".
"These envoys from Song Dynasty are probably studying that 'Painting of Rare Birds' now, I wonder if these young people have the ability to distinguish it." The middle-aged man continued.
How did he know such a secret thing? Who is this person, anyway? Liu Ziguang's mind was filled with doubts. Could it be that he was really from the Brocade Guard? Why would he say so many useless words? Was there some unknown power at work here? Anyway, based on experience from movies and TV shows, the more someone beats around the bush like this, the more likely they are to have an ulterior motive.
